07 Mustang Convertible Sub Install

[RonX91]

I finally got my car paid down enough to where I feel comfortable pulling off bigger customizations so I thought, why not do a sick sub install?

I've had subs in the car before. I had a cadence TXA-1000D (not sure exactly on the model) pushing two 10" kicker CVRs. It sounded alright but it made the trunk rattle like hell, even after installing dynamat. Long story short I sold the system and waited until I paid my car off a bit more to do something better.

My idea now is to take out the back seats and work out some way to make the back seat area look clean, maybe some carpeted plywood or something. I want to mount the amp up where the back of the seats would be and the subs on the bottom where you would sit. Planning on using two 12" alpine type R's and whatever amp I can find at the time for the best price will be the amp of choice (1200rms-ish).

My goals are to have the subs extremely loud with as little rattle as possible. I know I'll have some rattle but as long as its no where near what the trunk sounded like I should be okay with it. I also want it to be extremely loud. Like, hearing it from a block down loud. I know the 12's may not be enough, which is why I'm posting this thread.

My concerns are like I said, I'm not sure if it would be loud enough. Due to how much work this is going to take I really don't want to install everything then end up wanting to change it, so I guess my question; should I go with the two 12's or save up for two 15's? What about brands? In the past my only experience is with kickers so I'm really wanting to go with something with more quality this time, though I still wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of quality to be more loud.

My budget for this atm is hanging around $1k. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

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[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

We need to know how much space you wanna give up and what all you currently have...

 

[RonX91]

Ah sorry, completely forgot.

I basically want to sacrifice the entire back seat area for this. Current head unit is the shaker 500, don't really want to change it out as I really like the look of it tbh. Will probably pull the amp signals from the rear speakers again. Battery/alternator is stock, as well as all the wiring.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

I had a 2006 Mustang GT and you can also grab sub signal from the Driver's Side Kick area where the stock Shaker 500 amplifiers are:

I guess you got lucky because my Faker 500 HU was a royal POS. Then again, compared to my other problems with the car, the Faker 500 issue was just a drop in the bucket.

EDIT: Not trying to dissuade you, but, the fuel pumps and gas tank are under the rear seat. If you FG the bottom of your enclosure to mold to the space, just be warned of this. The way my luck went with my Mustang was that if I made it hard to get to OR if it was hard to get to from the factory, something would usually break in that area.

 

[RonX91]

Appreciate the info.

I think the only thing that would become hard to reach would be the wire harnesses for the rear ABS, at least thats what I think they are. The two wires that run down under the rear seats and run in to a clip that can be detached.

The only thing wrong with the Shaker 500 head unit is that the black paint is peeling off one of the buttons, but thats very minor. I've seen some other mustangs that have it way worse so I guess mine is in really good shape. I just don't want to get some aftermarket stereo that makes my car look rigged and cheap. I'd rather keep as close to factory looking as possible, until you look in the back seat anyways.

As for grabbing the signals off the factory amps, I did try that out and it worked well with a cheap amp and sub I used as a test, compared it with taking the signal off the rear speakers and didn't really notice too much of a difference in quality. I went ahead and ran wires from the factory amp to under the rear seat just to be able to compare when I get the system installed.

I'm going in to a shop a good friend of mine works at tomorrow in Dallas to talk my plans over with him and another guy to see what we can come up with. I originally wanted the subs to point straight up but now I'm thinking I should angle them towards the seats. We'll see I guess. I'll update this thread with what we come up with when I get home tomorrow.

Also, will I need to be upgrading my battery? I can definitely do it eventually but I didn't plan on doing it right away, along with the rest of the stock wiring (the big 3 I guess). The amp will need to max out two alpine type r 12's, so I'm guessing somewhere around 1-1.2k rms. I previously had a cadence 1000rms @ 1ohm and didn't really notice any dimming or the voltage gauge dipping down so I think I'll be good with the stock battery. Thoughts?